to pay sticker

Senior Member

Karel got a healthy discount, for helping out the day before, but the other five paidsticker. At the end of the ritual Mark chose the two biggest of the abandoned bags, and Peter packed them.
Source: Past Tense by Lee Child
Context: This is taking place at a motel. Six participants to an alleged game are paying their dues. The nature of the game is not illicit and uncertain at this time of the plot.

What does to pay sticker mean? pay premium? full price? Is this a common expression?

Senior Member

The term "sticker" or "sticker price" originally referred to automobiles. Sellers of new cars are required by U.S. law to attach a sticker* to each car, usually to a window, giving the price and other information about that car. Its meaning has extended over the years to almost anything that has a standard price.

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*Sometimes called a "Monroney sticker," for the U.S. senator who introduced the law that requires them.

Senior Member

Most items in the U.S. are sold at a set price so the concept of a sticker price doesn't really apply in the way it does in this context. It generally only applies to things that could possibly be bought at a discount or negotiated price - which generally means large things like cars and boats. A mop wouldn't have a sticker price, it would just have a price.